The present invention relates to a method for transferring articles from a conveyor or transporter on which the articles are advanced sequentially, one at a time, to a rack or magazine, into which the articles are placed in given positions closely adjacent one another, in which method one article at a time is gripped by means of a transfer device and moved and brought to a correct position of alignment in relation to the rack and, in conjunction therewith, introduced into said rack, said transfer device being provided with gripping means for gripping and firmly holding an article, and with movement and aligning means for moving the article held by the gripping means and bringing said article into a correct position of alignment in relation to the rack, and introducing said article into the rack.
The requirement of transferring articles from a conveyor or transporter is found in various industrial processes, in which the articles are advanced sequentially, one at a time, for example from a working or processing station to a rack or magazine, in which the articles are placed close together, whereafter the rack or magazine is used to transport the articles to a further processing station or to a consumer station. This is the case, for example, with articles that comprise pressed sheet-metal elements which are discharged singly from the press and which shall then be transferred to a rack for transportation to an assembly station for example. It is important in cases such as these that the rack is completely filled with articles or objects, which are therewith placed in close side-by-side relationship so as to utilize the space available to the best possible extent.